


You came to me as a ghost

by Lois_Lane



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, Cody is a ghost, boba is supportive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:54:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23225896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lois_Lane/pseuds/Lois_Lane
Summary: Cody swallowed thickly. Growing up they had always stuck to one another like glue. Two souls forever laced together no matter the circumstances. Two souls who had gone through the passing of their father and mother together through the pain and uncertainty. Now, Rex will have to go through that again without his other soul. But, deep down, Cody knew Rex would prevail. Rex was and will always be the strongest out of both of them.
Relationships: Boba Fett & CT-7567 | Rex, CC-2224 | Cody & CT-7567 | Rex
Kudos: 27





	You came to me as a ghost

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt: Write about a person who meets with the ghost of an old friend for tea every so often.

Cody, as Rex would come to know him while growing up, was a man of arcane and unyielding nature. 

In the balmy days brought after summer rains, Rex and Cody would listen to the trills of the birds, streams of water from hoses laving their heads as guileless thoughts came in billows. Rivulets of water dewed in Rex’s eyelashes while they nestled around the scarred line undulating Cody’s eye. As the birds continued to sing, Rex and Cody bathed in the warmness of the sun and of each other’s presence, glances to each other leading to bursts of endless laughter. 

As brothers, they were connected by blood. But as friends, they were connected for lifetimes--souls forever intertwined with one another in an endless stream of galaxies and stars. 

So it was no surprise to Rex when he saw Cody’s ghostly visage in the window pane leading to their wide yard after his passing. Cody always joked that he would haunt Rex once his time would come; Rex always hoped that time would never arrive, but one fatal car accident and a grim funeral later, he was left alone with only a little brother and never ending memories of an older brother haunting the crevices of his brain. Still, despite seeing his brother’s apparition, he chose to believe it was his imagination still trying to hold onto the memory of Cody’s tangible being. 

The week after the accident, Boba innocently remarked on the quietness that deafened the house, his pupils blooming when he observed the white cabinet in the kitchen. 

“But Cody isn’t gone,” he said. “He’s right there.” 

Boba’s strands of hair extended out in fronds before Rex smoothed them with the calloused parts of his palms absentmindedly. 

“Boba, you’re old enough to understand what it means when someone passes away.” His words came out brusquely, cauterized by the seething pain lingering in the deep, deep pits in his body. 

“I’m not crazy. Cody is right there.” 

All Rex could do was hum, kneeling down to hug his brother close to him, afraid to admit that he saw Cody, too. 

The following months had Rex seeing Cody’s ghost everywhere. In black computer screens. In window panes. In mirrors. In streams of warm water. Every appearance left Rex shaken to the core while endless questions overflowed to the brim until one day he tipped over, spilling every countless thought into the silence and wind. 

“What do you want, Cody?” He bellowed, silhouetted by the fluorescent moonlight as he crashed onto his knees. Cody’s passing had seared Rex’s soul; the aftershock thrummed throughout his body like static, like electricity, like an endless hurricane. 

The flowers Cody and Rex would water had withered, dessicated, and in a moment of blind anger, Rex gripped the rotten stem of one of them with the intention to yank it out from its pot before Boba careened Rex’s stiff body onto the dewed grass. His body lay prostrate against the coolness, for what seemed like mere seconds while eidetic memories of balmy summer days washed over him. 

“Rex,” Boba began, sighing deeply before continuing, “I miss Cody, too. I loved him and I miss him more than anything.” Tears came down Boba’s face quickly. “But I love you, too. It kills me to see you like this.” 

Rex sat upright, glancing upwards to peer at Boba’s face washed by blue moonlight. 

“Rex, please make amends with Cody’s ghost.”

“I’ll do it for you, Boba.”

Boba’s hands clenched, his jaw tensing. “I’m not asking for you to do it for me!”

Rex flinched. Boba inhaled. 

“Rex, you know that you need this. Talk to Cody so that his soul could rest. He’s already talked to me.” 

In the stillness, Rex reached out for Boba, dragging him against his chest in a crushing hug. Boba reciprocated, inhaling each other’s mass sorrow. 

“I love you, Boba.”

“I love you more, Rex.” 

The next morning, Rex layed out a blanket on top green grass and placed a mug brimming with steaming tea next to him as an invitation. He did not know if tea was a symbol of the afterlife or a peace offering--or  _ anything _ really-- in other cultures. All Rex knew was that tea was Cody’s favorite, so he made tea. 

Rex waited until the steam rose and Cody’s figure appeared from it. Goosebumps peppered his body like fireworks being set off in hot July when Cody’s eyes peered into him. Amber accentuated by high cheekbones and tan skin. 

“Been a while, Rex.” Cody’s voice sounded like a whistling wind. How Rex missed it.

“It has, huh? The house has been real quiet ever since you left.” Rex had not meant for his words to come out sardonic, but between the hauntings and the pain and the outbursts, the dam holding everything in place cracked and bursted. 

“Why, Cody? Why did you have to leave? Nevermind, I understand that wasn’t exactly your choice, but why haunt me? Why couldn’t you just move on? Why can’t you just let me deal with all of this without making it more difficult on me? I fucking miss you like crazy, and seeing your ugly face every day doesn’t help with my coping.” 

Cody breathed through his nose, a toothy grin plastered on his face before dipping his head in a sullen surrender. 

“I guess it was because I hadn’t said good-bye,” Cody consoled. “I mean, I was just as confused as you were. After the accident, I woke up in a white room with a door-” Cody motioned with his fingers, creating a rectangular shape with them, “-and I saw dad waiting for me. He wanted me to come with him, but I said no because I hadn’t said bye to you or Boba.” 

Cody breathed, his eyes gleaming. 

“What kind of older brother would I be if I left without saying good-bye?” 

Rex let the silence settle between them, absorbing Cody’s presence as much as he could. If this was a dream, Rex was extra careful of not blinking or pinching himself. Cody’s being felt otherworldly, and Rex wanted to bathe in it as much as he could before Cody vanished once more onto the next life. Before they both vanished onto their new lives. 

“I promise to take care of myself and of Boba,” Rex began. “And I promise to take the trash out every Wednesday. And I promise to teach Boba how to drive and shave and how to follow his dreams how you did with me.” 

Rex began to cry once more. 

“And I promise that I will be okay.”

Cody swallowed thickly. Growing up they had always stuck to one another like glue. Two souls forever laced together no matter the circumstances. Two souls who had gone through the passing of their father and mother together through the pain and uncertainty. Now, Rex will have to go through that again without his other soul. But, deep down, Cody knew Rex would prevail. Rex was and will always be the strongest out of both of them. 

“I love you, Rex.”

“I love you more, Cody.” 

Cody hugged Rex. Rex etched the feeling of his brother in his mind quickly, afraid he would fade. The warmness Cody radiated was unlike any heat Rex had felt before and he pressed onto it, letting the feeling comfort him as it soaked through him. 

Rex’s heart broke all the same, but he knew the pain would subside. He knew that he was capable of moving on, now.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing these characters, so I am very sorry if I messed up with characterization. I'm also a little rusty which is why this is kinda short and why my writing is a little meh. Feel free to leave any critiques!


End file.
